1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to embossing machine and particularly to an embossing machine which can either be activated by electric power with the bottom die moving upward and the top die remaining stationary or be operated manually with a press handle to move the top die downward while the bottom die remains stationary.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional manual embossing machine which in general includes a C shape frame 1, a feeding means 2 composed of a worm shaft 20, a worm pear 21, a top die 3, and a bottom die 4. The top die 3 is disposed under an upper fixed part 10 located above the gap of the frame 1 while the bottom die 4 is disposed on a lower fixed part 11 located below the gap of the frame 1. An embossing object A is placed on the bottom die 4. Lever 22 is then moved downward to turn the worm gear 21 which makes the worm shaft 20 moving linearly downward to press on the bottom die 4. Thus object A is pressed by the top die 3 and bottom die 4 to form figures or patterns on both faces of object A.
FIG. 2 illustrates another conventional manual embossing machine which uses every mechanism without worm gear or worm shaft. It is generally structured as shown in FIG. 1 although it is simpler in structure.
There are some disadvantages in the conventional embossing machines:
1. The top and bottom dies are rigidly disposed on the fixed parts, therefore they cannot be adjusted horizontally or vertically.
2. Because the embossing object is disposed rigidly, the grain depth and dimension of the object is restricted.
3. Manual operation could result in non-consistent embossing quality.
4. Manual operation is also slow and not efficient.
There are electric embossing machines developed to resolve the shortcomings of the manual embossing machine. FIG. 3 and 4 illustrate two of the examples. However electric embossing machine generally occupies large space and creates a high degree of tear and wear on the contact pans. It also needs highly skilled operator to adjust the gap and stamping angle. Therefore, it still can not reach a high degree of practicality.